Some questions -- music production/gaming/Windows compatibility

I'm in the market for a new laptop, because my Asus K53E is finally starting to die out on me. I'm gonna ramble a bit, but I'll highlight the questions if you don't wanna read the blabber.

I've never owned a Mac, but I'm considering getting one for wider access to DAW software for music production. Lately, I had only been looking into PCs, so I'd have access to FL Studio and similar software. Although, I keep hearing that Macs are the best for music production (and can run things like Logic and Garageband). But, I just found out today that you can run a Windows OS on a Mac computer...so, if I get a Mac and install Windows, I can have the best of both worlds and can run whatever I want, right? Is this sound logic or do you think it would be best to just stick to either Mac or PC instead of trying to have both? Will I be able to achieve the same quality in my music production if my laptop is bogged down by multiple operating systems?

Howeveeeer...one other thing I'm taking into account is the fact that I'm also a gamer and I'd really like a system that would be able to run things like Skyrim (preferably with mods) and The Sims 4 (also with mods). The gaming aspect isn't quite as important to me as the music production aspect, but it would still be pretty nice to have a laptop that can provide both.

So, tell me...does this exist? Is there a Mac laptop that can handle all of that or am I stuck having to choose between music and gaming? Any suggestions/recommendations?

 

for music production, it does not matter what platform you use. Nowadays a number of artists, a few studios and in my line of work ( broadcast video and motion picture ) you are almost as likely to see a windows workstation than a Mac. unless you are tied to certain applications I would say chose what works best for you. I know in my A/V work I use top end windows based workstations almost 95% of my time now.

 

Yes, you can run Windows in one of two ways: as a Virtual Machine and by itself under Boot Camp. I have Macs that have one, the other or both. My current system has a Windows 7 Virtual Machine so I can run programs in Mac OS X and Windows at the same time but there is a small performance penalty with running Windows and there's probably a larger penalty for graphics-intensive applications (I don't use any). Running Windows under Boot Camp gives you a Windows system but the Apple drivers generally aren't as good as on Windows systems simply because it's more of a convenience than something that they push strongly. An example is that switchable graphics isn't supported for Windows under Boot Camp and this can significantly impact your battery life.

If you want to game, I'd recommend a Windows laptop with better cooling - the thin and light stuff tends to get very hot under heavy gaming.

 

Macs are really not any better at media production than Windows computers. However, Apple software (Garage Band, Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, etc.) are extremely popular with artists. There are solid non-Apple programs for Windows such as Mixcraft that do the same thing.

Now I would not buy a high end Macbook Pro with the intention to just play games on it. If the 15'' Pro is packing the hardware you will need for your job/school/whatever then great, it can definitely play games as well (though maybe not at the level of a Sager/Clevo, Alienware, etc.). However, if you do decide to go Apple then Bootcamp is a great tool that lets you install Windows and run any of that software that doesn't run on OS X. I mainly use my Bootcamp install for gaming but only my Mac Mini, which isn't really the greatest gaming device out there (it ~runs~ the types of games I play, which is fine with me but if you've a taste for higher visual settings, it isn't the route to go.)